Good morning, good yawning

My morning started extra-early today.  About 3 hours early in fact, when a hyperventilating Emily walked into my room at 4AM saying her tummy hurt.  Over the course of the next 3 hours she cried and freaked out pretty much constantly, complaining about her ear popping, tummy hurting and not being able to breathe through her nose.  I suspect she has a low-grade ear infection.  I finally got her back to sleep around 7, just in time for Charlotte to wake up.  I tried to convince Charlotte that it would be super-fun to lay down with Mommy in bed for a bit, but she was not buying it.  It was breakfast time.

Mine had to include my new peanut flour.

Banana oatmeal with peanut flour, topped with Ezekiel cereal

I didn't send Emily to preschool due to her rocky morning, however I had no choice but to take both girls with me to the tire store because I had to get my tire fixed before it became totally flat and stranded me somewhere.  While we waited I pushed the girls in the stroller (so Emily could rest) over to Wal Mart and then to Common Market.  Unfortunately, my tire needed to be completely replaced and it looks like my others aren't doing too well either.  After owning my car for less than 2 years and only just having hit 20,000 miles I am NOT pleased that my tires are practically falling off.  I HAD to have the leaking tire replaced because I did not feel like continuing to run to a gas station to re-inflate it every 8 hours, but I plan to have words with the dealership before I replace the rest of them.  Maybe (hopefully) they are still under warranty.

Over the course of my morning I got woefully little caffeine into my system, so as soon as I got home I whipped myself up a double shot of espresso to get rid of my encroaching headache.

Fixed me right up

 After serving the girls leftover mac and cheese for lunch and realizing there was exactly one serving left I decided to lunch on that instead of my typical salad.

Leftover mac and cheese

 I regretted it later, because despite being more calorie-dense I don't think it held off my hunger for as long.  Or maybe it's just that Charlotte refused to nap today that made the afternoon seem extra-long and hungry.

My first snack:

1/2 container of cottage cheese with raspberry juice-sweetened jelly

I didn't take pictures of everything I ate.  In the interest of full disclosure, I had 12 tamari almonds, 1 apple, and 1 grapefruit to try to tide myself over until Bodypump.  But then Remy came inside and tracked mud ALL over the floor, the doorknob came off the pantry and I was at the end of my rope with having been awake since 4 and spending pretty much every minute since then being whined at or talked to loudly by someone.  I LOVE that my kids are so verbal, but it can also wear on me when they never stop talking!  I dealt with my stress by eating a mug of cereal.  Definitely not the best solution, but also not the worst thing I've ever eaten to relieve stress.

Nature's Path juice-sweetened millet rice flakes topped with raisins, walnuts, and coconut milk

After my snack I packed up the girls and took a 3-minute drive to the gym for Bodypump.  I got to stay for the entire time!  I can really tell I've been missing the lunge, shoulder and ab tracks...I'm much weaker in those areas.  After class I got to chat with my friend Kim for awhile, then I took the girls home and whipped up dinner as fast as I could because we were fast approaching Charlotte's bedtime.  Have I mentioned that I love Costco's bagged frozen stir-fry veggies?  Because I do.  They make stir-fry prep so fast and easy.

Veggies and scallop sautée over whole wheat noodles

 After dinner I had a bit of dessert.

Theo 70% dark chocolate with dried cherries and almonds

Since I have only spent about 62% as much time in my bed as I prefer to over the past 24 hours, I am going to head there right now.  I know pretty much all of my posts end with a similar sentiment, but unless I can figure out a way to pre-blog foods I have yet to eat for the day I am stuck blogging right before bed when I am always exhausted.  I guess my Bloggy award for best-written blog will have to wait until my kids are older and my sleep schedule is more predictable.